London-based stationery tech startup Papier secures $50M in Series C funding to fuel expansion into the US market

Who would have thought stationery was a big business? But not for British-Iranian Taymoor Atighetchi who saw what most people didn’t see. Today, the global stationery industry is a $200 billion market. Born in London, Taymoor grew up on Portobello Road where he was the market’s youngest antique dealer. His family name, Atighetchi, translates to “art dealer” in Persian, which is exactly what his father is.

Inspired by his father’s artistic roots, Taymoor went on to study History of Art at The University of Cambridge and whilst there, co-founded ‘The Tab.’ In 2015, Taymoor decided to launch Papier, a direct-to-consumer online stationery brand that invites you to uncover the endless possibilities of a blank page.

Alongside in-house collections, Papier collaborates with upcoming artists, iconic brands, and inspiring fashion labels to curate its emporium of notebooks, notecards, diaries, and more.

To further fuel its international expansion, with a particular focus on the US, Papier announced today it has raised $50 million in Series C funding. Papier said the US currently accounts for over 30% of its revenue, in addition to growing its range of products.

The round was led by the Paris-based firm Singular and was accompanied by dmg ventures, the backers of Cazoo and Zoopla, Lansdowne Partners, and Kathaka, which brings Papier’s total investment to date to $65M. Existing investors Felix Capital (Farfetch, Mejuri, Mirakl) and Beringea also participated in the round.

Nahu Ghebremichael, Partner at Singular, will be joining the board at Papier, bringing her expertise in scaling consumer businesses – having worked with the likes of Deliveroo, Target, and eBay – and advising the business’s next stage of growth as it bridges both UK and US territories.

Nahu Ghebremichael, says, “Taymoor and the Papier team have completely reinvented stationery for today’s consumer. They’ve taken the traditional charm, sophistication, and personalized touch of the offline paper world, and merged it with a seamless, tech-driven consumer experience and production process. I’ve been so impressed with the team’s vision, ambition, and consumer-first values. We at Singular are thrilled to partner with Papier on taking this world-class brand to even greater heights.”

Taymoor Atighetchi, CEO & Founder of Papier adds; “I’m incredibly excited about the next big chapter in our journey to build a global category-defining brand and thrilled to welcome Singular as a partner in this journey alongside dmg ventures, Kathaka, and existing investors Felix and Beringea. With this new round of capital, Papier can take a big bold step forward in our ambition to be a global brand and double down in our investment in the US market.“

Since its launch in 2015 by Founder Taymoor Atighetchi, Papier has scaled significantly year on year as customers seek high-quality, exceptionally designed stationery produced in a sustainable way. Papier witnessed a huge rise in demand for stationery over the last few years, fuelled by a shift in consumers embracing analog practices such as journaling and card-sending in pursuit of improved wellness and enriched connectivity. This, paired with a shift in increased home working and the rise of the “home office” during the pandemic, led to Papier’s revenue growing >150% over the past 2 years.

Papier will be using the investment to tap into the vast US stationery market – US sales already account for more than 30% of the brand’s total revenue and are on course to reach 40% in 2022. To serve the growing US customer base, Papier will be adding additional printing capacity in the market to enable faster delivery, as well as opening its first US office, in SoHo, New York, where it will build a local team with roles across brand, marketing, and operations, taking the global team to over 100. This international focus will go hand-in-hand with Papier expanding its product offering beyond its notably loved stationery products into writing and desk accessories.

Sustainability has always been deeply rooted in the business’ mission and will continue to be at the forefront of the business’s mission going forwards. Papier’s on-demand production model means that the business manufactures only what the customer wants instead of holding lots of stock. All Papier products use papers that are sourced from sustainable forests and are FSC certified, meaning that by choosing Papier, customers are making a more sustainable choice and growing global forestry.

Since its inception, Papier has quickly established itself as a household name in the UK by curating eclectic in-house designs and category-defining collaborations, which account for 50% of Papier’s sales. Papier’s collaborators include the V&A, Mother of Pearl, Temperley London, Rosie Assoulin, Headspace, and Matilda Goad to name a few.

Millennials are Papier’s biggest customer demographic accounting for 53% of active customers but Gen Z customers are Papier’s fastest-growing audience as they utilize the brand’s stationery products to find balance in their digitally-native lives. Papier has an engaged and brand loyal community with an NPS of over 75% and 90% of customers identifying Papier as “a brand for people like them.”